Practice Areas
Industries
International Trade
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May 29, 2012
Haiti Telecom Exec Gets Sentence Cut To 18 Months
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday slashed the prison sentence of a former executive at Haiti's state-owned telecommunications company to 18 months after prosecutors sought a reduced sentence for his cooperation in a far-reaching bribery probe that has put several executives and government officials behind bars.
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May 29, 2012
Ex-CCI Sales Chief Pleads Guilty In Foreign Bribery Case
The former head of sales for valve manufacturer Control Components Inc. on Tuesday pled guilty in California federal court to charges stemming from his part in an alleged multimillion-dollar foreign bribery scheme, a move that could significantly reduce his possible prison sentence.
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May 29, 2012
Justices Won't Hear Tessera Patent Exhaustion Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review the U.S. International Trade Commission's ruling that several dynamic random access memory chip manufacturers, including Acer Inc. and Nanya Technology Corp., did not infringe patents held by Tessera Inc. and that Tessera's rights were exhausted.
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May 29, 2012
Judge Backs Bolivia's $1M Judgment In UPS Shipping Suit
A Florida federal court on Tuesday recognized a $1 million judgment of a Bolivian court in a suit brought by an importer/exporter which found that UPS Latin America Inc. was negligent for transporting goods through Bolivia without proper documentation.
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May 29, 2012
EPA Steps Up Regulation Of Products Containing Mercury
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will boost restrictions on manufacturers of mercury-filled thermometers, barometers and other devices, continuing its push for mercury-free alternatives, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register.
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May 29, 2012
McKool Smith Nabs ITC, Patent Pro From Cadwalader
McKool Smith has landed veteran U.S. International Trade Commission trial lawyer and patent litigation ace Kent R. Stevens from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP to join the firm as a principal in its Washington office, the firm said Tuesday.
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May 29, 2012
Bad Commerce Data Inflated Korean Steel Co. Tariffs, CIT Says
The U.S. Department of Commerce must reconsider its application of financing costs in calculating export tariffs for a Korean steel producer who said the regulator's use of unusually high expenses led the company's anti-dumping rates to skyrocket, the U.S. Court of International Trade said Friday.
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May 30, 2012
Dewey & LeBoeuf Files For Bankruptcy
Following the defection of more than half its partners, debt-ridden Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP filed for bankruptcy Monday night, marking one of the largest law firm collapses in U.S. history.
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May 25, 2012
US Drops 9th Circ. Appeal In Lindsey FCPA Case
Federal prosecutors on Friday dropped their Ninth Circuit appeal of the dismissal of the Lindsey Manufacturing Co. indictment, five months after a judge lambasted them for their misconduct in the first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case that resulted in a corporation’s conviction.
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May 25, 2012
FDA Appeals Death Penalty Drug Ban To DC Circ.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked the D.C. Circuit on Friday to review a decision in favor of death row prisoners who sued the agency in order to halt the importation of an unapproved drug used to carry out executions.
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May 25, 2012
China Challenges US Countervailing Duties At WTO
China filed a World Trade Organization complaint Friday accusing the U.S. of improperly applying countervailing duties to $7.3 billion worth of Chinese products, including the recently announced tariffs on solar panels.
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May 25, 2012
Ericsson's Panama Unit To Pay $1.8M Fine Over Cuba Exports
Swedish telecommunication giant Ericsson’s Panamanian subsidiary has agreed to pay a $1.75 million fine to resolve claims it flouted the U.S.' long-standing embargo on Cuba through a three-year scheme shipping equipment from the island nation to and from the U.S., the Commerce Department said Friday.
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May 25, 2012
Ex-CCI Sales Chief To Change Plea In FCPA Case
A former Control Components Inc. executive on Tuesday will change his not guilty plea to charges stemming from his part in an alleged foreign bribery scheme, according to a California federal court docket.
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May 25, 2012
Lawmakers Seek Comments On Unusually Heated Tariff Bill
Two Congressional committees sought public comment Thursday on the 1,300 bills that have been proposed for inclusion in this year's Miscellaneous Tariff Bill to lift tariffs on specific products, a traditionally noncontroversial process that has stirred debate among Republicans this year.
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May 25, 2012
Repsol Lodges 2nd US Suit Over YPF Nationalization
Spanish oil giant Repsol YPF SA on Monday accused Argentina of violating securities filing rules in New York federal court, the second action the company has taken in American court over the country's decision to nationalize Repsol's local operation YPF earlier this year.
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May 25, 2012
US Says China's Currency Still Not Strong Enough
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday called on China to let its currency further strengthen against the dollar, but again declined to name the country as a currency manipulator.
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May 25, 2012
EU Takes Argentina To WTO Over Trade Restrictions
The European Union on Friday hit Argentina with a formal challenge in the World Trade Organization over allegedly restrictive trade practices, the latest accusation of protectionism hurled at the South American country.
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May 24, 2012
Eversheds Picks Up Dewey IP Leader For Paris Office
U.K.-based Eversheds LLP became the latest firm to pick up a former Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP partner on Thursday, strengthening its Paris office with the addition of a partner specializing in intellectual property, international trade and technology matters.
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May 24, 2012
LA's $890M Railcar Contract Award Meets Buy America Regs
The Federal Transit Authority on Tuesday told the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that its $890 million contract with a Japanese firm for the manufacture of up to 235 light-railcars met Buy America requirements, over the objections of labor and economic advisory groups.
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May 24, 2012
UK Bribery Act Crippled By Lack Of Funding, Attys Say
A severe lack of funding has sabotaged the U.K. Serious Fraud Office's ability to aggressively enforce the country's sweeping new anti-bribery law and to bring the types of major corruption cases many have long anticipated, experts told Law360 on Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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Examining The WTO's Decision On Tuna Labeling Rules
The World Trade Organization Appellate Body's recent decision on U.S. measures that condition access to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s official “dolphin-safe” label for tuna products adds to the recently growing jurisprudence on the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, say attorneys with Mayer Brown LLP.
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Avoiding FCPA Prosecution For Employee Conduct
Contrasting the enforcement positions in the recent Morgan Stanley and Noble Corp. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases, a few factors stand out as potentially influencing when companies will be held responsible for the actions of their employees, and when such actions will be viewed as “rogue” conduct, say attorneys with Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
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Counterfeit Parts Report — A Guide For Contractors, DOD
The Senate Armed Services Committee's report on counterfeit parts is dramatic and powerful evidence that strong measures are needed at many levels of the U.S. Department of Defense supply chain to reduce vulnerability to counterfeit parts. It gives all companies in the defense supply chain a lot to study and much to learn from, say Robert Metzger and Jeffery Chiow of Rogers Joseph O’Donnell PC.
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Cross-Border Petroleum Reservoir Development Tactics
There is support among leading international scholars and practitioners for the proposition that a country may, if it is unable to reach a unitization agreement with a neighboring country, unilaterally exploit a cross-border hydrocarbon reservoir. However, most countries, for economic and political reasons, prefer a cooperative approach, say Philip Weems and Archie Fallon of King & Spalding LLP.
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Trade Compliance: Minding Your P's, Asking The Right Q's
The challenge of trade compliance has given many a general counsel, compliance officer and chief financial officer a headache. Though the issues are complex, compliance with financial sanctions and trade embargoes can be broken down into four key components — the four "P's," says Miriam Gonzalez of Dechert LLP.
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Best Practices For Corporate Social Responsibility
As with many industries, the legal services industry has adapted to the demand for sustainability practices. An effective Corporate Social Responsibility program will manifest itself in all strategic planning, from best firm employee practices and environmental sustainability to providing legal services, recruiting and retention of employees, business development, marketing and philanthropy, says Howard Dakoff of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.
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UK Bribery Act — There’s A New Constable In Town
While David Green’s recent arrival as director of the U.K. Serious Fraud Office certainly appears to usher in a far more aggressive prosecution policy, rather than the pragmatic — and some would say lenient — approach of the last four years, his task will not be easy, says Raymond Sweigart of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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Going To Trial On FCPA Charges — The Percentage Play
For the individual defendant facing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges, pleading guilty is by no means a foregone conclusion — real opportunities may exist to put the government to its proof at a trial, say John Gordon and Sean Delphey of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
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Case Study: Sandager V. Dell Marketing
In recent years, False Claims Act cases brought by opportunistic qui tam relators who lack any inside information regarding the companies they sue have been dismissed either because they merely mimic the allegations of a previously filed case or do not plead their allegations of fraud with sufficient particularity. A recent example of this trend is U.S. ex rel. Sandager v. Dell Marketing LP, say attorneys with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.
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FCA Suits: A Growing Concern In Trade Compliance
A new trend in False Claims Act suits is emerging. Increasingly, international trade compliance lapses are serving as the basis for FCA suits. Steps should be taken to protect companies against this growing area of potential liability for international trade activities, say Lisa Crosby, Bob Conlan and Jill Caiazzo of Sidley Austin LLP.